Coming from an Asian household, my mother expected me to learn to cook at a very young age. Unfortunately for her, she could never coax me into the kitchen willingly, although I did love going shopping for Aprons. When I moved Down Under in early 2008 this was a major dilemma that I faced, and my admiration for who ever invented two minute noodles increased day by day. However early last year , the latent MasterChef in me awoke , all because someone requested chicken soup , request being the polite word here , the actual word would be “ challenge “ . I discovered a hidden talent in myself, the ability to cook and bake yummy treats. My mom says it’s an inheritance from my maternal grandfather who passed away before I was born and I say “Thank you, Grandpa “.

So through my cooking journey so far, I have searched high and low for the best and easiest fried rice recipe and this is one of the tastiest I’ve come across. Neither the recipe nor the video are mine, but done by Aasai Rasai, which happens to be a creation of the Bestie. The recipe uses basic ingredients, including frozen veggies, which in my personal opinion is a gift from the God of Convenience to all us busy corporate chicks. Also Fried Rice is a one pot wonder and is a premium choice of comfort food for me. There is nothing like enjoying a bowl of Fried Rice whilst watching a chick flick on a Friday Night. So when the Bestie did a cooking video on fried rice I could not wait to try it out. I have included a link to the video for those who want to give it a go. Just a word of caution , this fried rice is addictive and you will be wanting more and more.

“Is it even possible ? “ , you may ask , because right now your heart is broken , into tiny gazillion pieces and trying to super glue it together again may look like a daunting task . But I say, it certainly is possible…trust me , I have had my fair share of heart breaks and so have a lot of my friends . In fact, I am yet to meet a person who has not had their heart broken at one time or another. But let’s get one thing clear , I am not just talking about heart break through love , you know that moment when the guy you loved for ages dumps you for another girl ( or vice versa ) , but other times as well , when you don’t get the promotion you deserve at work , or when your teenage child is all grown up and getting ready to leave the parental nest , yes , those occasions also cause this thing we call “ heart break “ .Of course , on a scale of 1 to 10 , it may differ on how we rate each of these heart breaks , with a broken heart caused by love possibly scoring the all-time high of 10 , and we would obviously not be feeling ecstatic like a gymnast who got a perfect score.

The first time I got my heart broken, I cried a river of tears and went on to get some hair of the dog that bit me, as a cure .Big Mistake! , I guess it only works on alcohol. That mistaken cure lead to more heartbreak, more tears and the ultimate fail safe…RUN AWAY!Yes , I ran way to a brand new life , where no one knew me and where my failures did not stare me in the face. Then there was the career heart break, where I had been eagerly awaiting for a certain vacancy to come up, and when it did, I applied for it, knowing I ticked all the right boxes and that it was well deserved. Did I get it?no …and let me tell you , there was nothing worse , at that time , than reading that letter which started with “ we regret to inform ..” , all my hopes came crumbling to the ground , and I found a little corner at work to cry deep gulping tears . Then someone very wise said to me, “there will always be other opportunities, when one door closes another will open “. Not being a parent, I have not yet had to face a grown up child heart break, but I am sure it hurts just the same.

The point is, all those heart breaks have taught me one thing, running away or hair of the dog, will not ease the pain. It takes time and patience. Sometimes new experiences, meeting new people, a new job, can make the pain blur a little, but it will be there in the background. But time will heal the wound, yes, you will have a little scar, but that too will fade someday. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you should stay at home and mope to pass the time , instead get active , get yourself out there , learn something new , open your arms out and embrace a new experience . All that will act as the medicine, but don’t forget, time is your doctor. It worked for me and it will work for you.

For those of you who do not know what City to Surf is , it is an annual event held in August in Perth .There is also a City to Surf event in Sydney , but my experience is of the Perth event.

Established in 1975 , it is a popular road running /walking and marathon event , consisting of distances of 4 , 12 , 21 or 42 kilometres . Participants have the freedom of choice , to walk or run whichever distances they prefer , from Perth CBD to City Beach . Needless to say I opted to walk the 12 km distance . The event is organized by the Active Foundation to benefit people with disabilities.

So , on the morning of the last Sunday of August , I dragged my chirpy ( not ) self out of bed so that I could meet the rest of the team at 9:00 am near the starting point . And believe me , 9:00 am on a Sunday , is very early for this girl . People prepare well in advance for this event , but obviously my preparation was the 3km walk I did on the previous day , over to the Besties . Although feeling apprehensive at first , I did get into the spirit of things when I saw the massive crowd of participants eagerly awaiting the start of the event.

The first couple of kilometres was a breeze , that is , until we came upon the first hill . Somehow I managed to crawl up that first hill , but seeing even little children ranging from ages 5 or so onwards happily skipping along with their mothers , did make that crawl easier and of course , there was always the down hill walk to look forward to .Seeing the midway mark later on made me more driven and enthusiastic and of course the funny signage along the way helped too . Yes , I would have jumped for joy on seeing the 6km sign , had I not been so desperately out of breath.

Yet despite the uphill battles , I did manage to complete the 12km walk in 2:18:00 , and felt very proud of myself as I walked across the finish line . It was a very enriching experience , and at the end of it , I felt like a Lilliputian who survived a walk with the giants . Of course , being awarded a medal for completing the walk totally helped too !

P:S – I think I am even looking forward to doing it again next year ..

London Court is a little piece of England tucked away in the heart of Perth City , that I stumbled upon by accident .Built in 1937 , this quaint shopping arcade has of course been there for close to 80 years , however yours truly ended up there one sunny day after taking a wrong turn on St.Georges Terrace . and yes , I did forget all the errands I was on that day , as I was so captivated by the Elizabethan /Tudor architecture , the gargoyles , shields , crests and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee . The most interesting thing for me was the clock at the Hay Street end , showcasing mechanised knights appearing to joust with each other , when the clock chimes. Nothing makes a girl’s day like finding a knight in shining armour , even if it’s a mechanised one . There are quite a few specialty retail shops in the arcade , selling items such as chocolates , souvenirs , jewellery to Ugg Boots and you can very easily find that unique gift you may sometime end up searching for. The cafes have outdoor as well as indoor seating , so you can relax and enjoy some delicious food and beverage whilst you gaze on the fellow travellers passing by. So if you are ever in Perth , London court is a must see city attraction , even if you are from England . For those who love to Instagram , it is a picture perfect location , so please do come armed with a camera .